It's A Start
by spritesinger
Summary: You can hear some funny things when you're up a tree.


"You've got to be joking!" Lily stood, looking up at her friend.

"Come on," Alice cajoled from her perch in the tree. "You know you want to."

And that was the problem: she _did_ want to. She hadn't climbed a tree since Third Year, but . . .

"I'm Head Girl Alice!"

"So what? There's nobody around to see you!"

"Except for all the other Seventh Years who have a free period now!"

"But they're not here _now,_" her friend told her with exaggerated patience. "Come _on,_ Lily!"

Lily gave up arguing with her friend and tried to work out where to put her wand whilst she climbed since she had no pockets. In the end she settled for tying it to her wrist with a spare bobble and started to climb.

She was soon sitting beside her friend and was glad she had come after all - the weather was scorching and it was much cooler in the tree. Plus it was always nice to be outside the castle.

They were so engrossed in what they were talking about that they didn't particularly notice the voices coming towards them until they were a few feet away from the tree.

"What are we going to do?" Lily whispered, panicking. "I can't let someone see me up here! I'd _die_ of embarrassment!"

"And you never exaggerate, do you?" Alice muttered. "If we climb a bit higher then the leaves'll hide us a bit." Lily eyed the branches higher up dubiously - they didn't look very safe . . . but, since she couldn't think of any other idea, she followed her friend.

When she had found a place to sit she pulled a few leaves back to try and see who it was - and nearly fell out of the tree.

"It's Remus, Potter and Black!" She hissed. "They're never going to let me hear the last of this!"

"Only if they find out you're up here," Alice whispered practically, "so shush!" Lily shushed but carried on watching. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Black climb onto the first branch, but luckily he didn't climb any further and instead lay back along the broad tree limb.

The other two boys dumped their bags on the floor and flopped down on the grass, causing Lil to remember gratefully that they had left their bags upstairs in their dormitories.

James rolled over on his front and started shredding a handful of leaves.

"Lily looked pretty today," he commentated casually. Remus pulled a book out from an over-stuffed bag.

"You always say that," he told his friend as he found his page. "It's about your only conversation starter, isn't it Padfoot? Padfoot?"

Sirius was staring hard into the leaves above him and Lily pulled back, worried that he might see her. The only thing that would have been worse than Potter catching her would have been Black catching her - Potter would eventually have let her live it down, but Black wouldn't. Not in a million years.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," he answered, turning to look at his friends. Lily silently sighed in relief: he hadn't seen her.

James was now poking the leaves with his wand and Lily watched as the pile of shredded grass transfigured into a lily.

"That's because it's a good conversation starter," he retorted. "Where's Wormtail?"

"Detention," said Sirius lazily. "Don't you remember? He put a mouse under Linda's chair in Transfiguration and McGonagall caught him.

"So that's what she was screeching about. I wasn't paying attention, I was -"

" - looking at Lily," his friends finished for him. James looked injured.

"How," he asked, "do you know that I wasn't going to say 'taking notes'?" Sirius nearly fell off his branch.

"You weren't, were you?" He asked, shocked. "Because if you _were_ you need to go to the hospital wing - you almost never take notes in a class with Lily in unless she's watching!"

"Don't worry, he wasn't," Remus turned a page. "He asked to borrow mine after the lesson."

James poked the lily again and it rose into the air, shrinking as it did so, before turning into a silver charm. He picked a handful of daisies and started to thread them together into a chain.

"What I don't understand is how you manage to get practically full marks in each subject when you never takes notes," Sirius continued.

"Maybe it's because he always ends up copying mine before an exam," Remus said dryly, turning another page.

"Or maybe it's because I'm simply a natural genius!"

"Nah." Both his friends dismissed this idea without a second thought.

"Nice try, though. I - _Prongs_! What are you _doing_? Is that a _daisy chain_? What are you making a _daisy chain_ for?" He watched as his friend tapped the flowers with his wand and it turned into a fine silver chain to which he attached the lily charm. He held it up for his friends to look at.

"For this. Do you think she'll like it?" He didn't have to specify who the "she" was.

"She's a girl, isn't she?"

"Not funny, Padfoot! Moony?" Remus took the necklace and turned it over in his hands before handing it back.

"I'm sure she will," was all he said.

"I was thinking that maybe this time I'd just ask if we could be friends." Sirius shrugged.

"It's worth a try. Are you going to go and find her now?" James was standing up.

"Might as well, no time like the present." Sirius jumped off the branch.

"I'll come with you - I need to find Marlene. Moony?"

"Sure, I'll come. Wormtail'll be out of detention by now." Remus stuffed the book into his bag.

Up in the branches the two girls heaved a collective sigh of relief as the boys disappeared off towards the castle.

"I thought they'd never leave," moaned Lily.

"At one point I thought Black saw us," said Alice as she started to climb back down. "Come one - I'm getting my feet firmly on the ground before someone else comes along!"

Lily gave her friend a moment to get back down to the ground before she started to slide off her branch. Placing a foot on the branch below she put her weight on it but it cracked alarmingly and she quickly pulled herself back onto the branch she had been sitting on.

Slowly, under it's own weight the crack widened and then fell earthwards, leaving Lily stranded up in the tree.

Reaching for her wand, she found that it was missing and when she looked down at the ground she could see it lying there at the base of the tree.

She took a moment to figure out her options before calling down to Alice.

"Alice, I think you'd better go and get some help - I'm stuck."

"What about your wand?" Lily just pointed at it lying on the ground.

"Oh. _Oh._ Um, I could try . . . " she gave her wand a hopeful flick.

"_No!_" Lily said hurriedly - charms was not Alice's strongest subject - then more calmly. "No." I think you should go and get some help." Alice nodded and set off. "Just make sure it isn't Black!" She yelled at her friends retreating back. "Or Potter!" She had a feeling that Alice might not have heard the last part, though, as she was already gone.

Lily was soon bored sitting up in the tree so started whistling tunelessly to pass the time.

"Tuneful." The comment made her jump as she hadn't heard the speaker approach. Looking down she groaned.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked ungraciously.

"Alice sent me."

"_What?_ but I told her not t-" she broke off, realising she couldn't afford to offend the only person who would be able to help her.

"Yes, she mentioned that. But we figured that in a choice between me or the Slytherins you would probably prefer me." Lily had to agree - Potter would drop the subject after a few weeks but the Slytherins would tell the whole school.

By now James was on the branch below.

"If you slip off the branch but hang on with your hands I'll catch you," he instructed. Lily was about to do as he said but stopped as something occurred to her.

"I don't suppose you could close your eyes could you?" James looked completely bemused.

"I'm wearing a skirt."

"Huh? Oh. _Oh,_ right. Uh, probably not and still catch you. I promise I won't look though. Are you ready?" Lily nodded and slipped off the branch. She felt James catch her and let go of the branch she was holding. She stood there for a moment before quickly sitting down.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He helped her down to the next branch even though she didn't need any help. "Ladies first."

"Thanks."

When they reached the ground she picked up her wand before they set off towards the castle.

"So how long were you in the tree for?" He asked eventually.

"Since the beginning of the free period."

"So you were there when we were?"

"Yes."

"Oh." He dug around in a pocket. "I wanted this to be a surprise," he handed her the necklace, "but I guess if you were up the tree then you know all about this."

Lily looked at it, marvelling at the detail.

"It's beautiful," she told him, "and I'm not just saying that because I'm a girl." James smiled, delighted with the success of his gift. "So do you think we could be friends then?" He asked hopefully.

She pondered the question before replying.

"We could give it a try."

"Gr-"

"On one condition." James gulped and hoped that she wouldn't say he couldn't ask her out ever again.

"You don't breathe a _word_ to Black about my getting stuck in that tree." James sighed with relief - he could do that!

"Okay, not a word," he promised.

"Good."

They stopped inside the Entrance Hall, James to go find his friends and Lily to go and get her books for her next lesson. Lily used the opportunity to put on her necklace but her finger fumbled with the catch so James did it for her. On impulse she reached up and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for the necklace, James, and for rescuing me from the tree." James just stood and grinned like a fool at her.

Smiling at her response she set off up the stairs to go and get her books. Halfway up she turned back.

"James?" He looked at her. "You really ought to take proper notes, you know. Then when you have to revise you already know half of it." He just laughed.

"Go get your stuff - I'll meet you in Potions."

"And James? Not a _word_ to Black."

OoOoO

"I don't believe it," muttered Sirius. "How did you _do_ it? She kissed him on the cheek! _And _ called him James!" Alice just smiled.

"It's a start," was all she said. "It's a start."


End file.
